UFC Fresno Preview – Featherweight Title Eliminator?

The Main Event of the UFC Fresno is a possible featherweight title eliminator between Brian “T-City” Ortega and “Killer” Cub Swanson. while other important fights are occurring in the Bantamweight division with Jason Knight vs. Gabriel Benitez and Marlon Moraes Vs. Aljo Sterling.

Cub Swanson (-108) Vs. Brian Ortega (-112)

When Frankie Edgar had to pull out of UFC 218 with an orbital bone injury, people were assuming that Cub Swanson would get the shot at Max Holloway on short notice. He was training for this fight, ready to face another young up-and-comer and had won four straight. I was appalled when Jose Aldo got the shot because Cub reasonably deserved it. Cub defeated Hacran Dias, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Artem Lobov and had the Fight of the Year against Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206. The problem with those victories is that three of them (Exception of Choi) were against opponents who were clearly outmatched or on their way out of the sport. Brian Ortega is not one of those, Ortega is currently undefeated with four straight 3rd round finish victories against the likes of Thiago Tavares, Diego Brandao, Clay Guida and Renato Moicano. I feel gutted for Cub because he’s been fighting forever to try and get a shot at the title and I feel like he’s gonna need to wait even longer after this fight because I think Ortega will take the victory. Brian Ortega Def. Cub Swanson

Gabriel Benitez (+250) Vs. Jason Knight (-300) – Mortal Lock

Jason Knight bit off a bit more than he could chew in his last fight when he stepped in to face the perennial top-5 featherweight Ricardo Lamas. Ricardo beat him swiftly and severely. I do think that he is still a quality up-and-comer in the Featherweight Division, but I believe that he needs a few years. He defeated Chas Skelly, Alex Caceres, Dan Hooker and Jim Alers before the aforementioned Lamas Fight. I believe that Benitez is a good comeback fight for Knight to showcase himself and his skills like the way he did when he fought Chas Skelly. Jason Knight Def. Gabriel Benitez

Aljo Sterling (+119) Vs Marlon Moraes (-139)

Marlon Moraes hasn’t fought the top-tier of the Bantamweight division in his career because he was fighting in the World Series of Fighting. In his two UFC fights, He lost a Split-Decision to Raphael Assuncao and won a Split-Decision against John Dodson. Aljamain Sterling has also had his fair share of Split-Decisions in losses to Bryan Caraway and Raphael Assuncao but has also won his last two fights against Augusto Mendes and Former Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao. I believe right now, Moraes has the skills but will not put it together and Aljo will take the win. Aljamain Sterling Def. Marlon Moraes